What if?
by Freak-With-Issues
Summary: What if, that day at the hospital, Kakashi had been out speaking with the Hokage about his students and hadn't been able to separate his male students? What if Sakura, in a rare moment of courage, didn't stop running and stood between the two incoming and fatal blows to stop her teammates from killing each other? What if indeed.


**A/N: **I know, I suck as an author. My excuses consist of: very sick granmother, scary men, a hell of a lot of nightmares, a rush of writers block that infected all my stories and left me banding my head on my keyboard, and difficulty with life. This is just something I was inspired to do by an AMV with the Naruto rooftop Sasuke vs. Naruto scene. I've always had this in my head, but until now I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to write. Anyways, enjoy and I swear I'm working on my current stories.

Sakura watched with horror and suddenly she knew exactly what she had to do, she had to get in the way. She'd been getting in Naruto and Sasuke's way since the team had begun, so it was finally time for her to put that burdensome habit to some use. That was when she pumped the chakra into her feet, pushing off with such speed that her head momentarily spun and then sharply her vision was in focus and she was throwing herself in the path of two deadly attacks with no inhibitions except the guilt caused by her inability to do anything but act as a human sacrifice for the greater good.

She saw Naruto's terrified expression as he closed in on her with the resengan in his hand, aimed for her left side since she faced Naruto. Somehow, the idea of dying didn't scare her in the least because it had always been just a word to her. She was a child, how was she to realize that only one death left pain in the hearts of people from dozens to millions, that death also slaughtered all future hopes and dreams, that death could also destroy the past leaving one's life in a jumble of questions and guilt.

Naruto screamed at her right before she felt a blinding pain attack her from either side above her left hip. She faintly heard a piercing scream that sounded feminine, but blackness swallowed her before she could figure out who was screaming. As she collapsed backwards into the darkness, physical feeling as well as reason abandoning her in the foreign place, she could only feel accomplished for having stopped the two she cared most for from killing each other.

~.N~.A~.R~.U~.T~.O~.

He was fighting Sasuke, furious with the bastard, and suddenly the big guns were pulled, both boys bringing out their most dangerous and deadly attacks. That was when she came into the picture, running forward to put herself between Sasuke and him to stop them from attacking each other. That was when all his anger disappeared, the heat of the moment dissipating to leave only terror as he realized he was unable to stop the attack and in seconds at the most he'd be hitting Sakura with it.

When he was face to face with her, Sasuke a foot away on the other side of her as his own chidori flew towards her, Sakura looked oddly at peace like she was not about to die. Naruto screamed at her, putting his hope that in the last second she'd come to her senses and move, but she didn't. As both boys attack pierced her left side, Sakura's eyes bulged and she let out a piercing scream. Naruto could feel his arm imbedded in her body. the warmth of her blood surrounding him, and removed it just as quickly as Sasuke when Sakura's body suddenly became totally limp and she dropped backwards towards Sasuke. The boy, who was frozen with a twisted expression that was a mix of fury and shock, didn't move to catch her so Naruto did.

He quickly set her on the ground and ripped his orange jacket off over his head, tying it around her torso to try to slow the bleeding before he could get her inside the hospital for healing. He then gather her in his arms, lifting her and running back to the still open door of the rooftop to rush her downstairs with his voice quickly becoming hoarse from screaming for help at the top of his lungs. He handed his female teammate off to the first nurse who appeared, but was hardly comforted when the woman screeched out in shock at the sight of the mangled girl.

Before his eyes Sakura was rushed away into the nearest surgery room and Naruto took his seat in front of the room, tears streaming down his face in rivulets and his body shivering as he was shirtless and alone in the cold hallway.

~.S~.A~.S~.U~.K~.E~.

When he first saw her move, he'd thought she was just going to get closer to scream and cry like she usually did, only fueling his anger more. He was stunned, however, when she placed herself between her two attacking teammates and remained there with her back to him. He kept telling himself that she would get scared and move so he could continue his attack, the back of his mind realizing he wanted that to happen because he couldn't stop his attack at that point, but she didn't. She remained in place even as the two glowing attacks sunk into her side and sliced her open like an animal being slaughtered. She screamed and that was when it truly hit Sasuke that he may have just _killed _Sakura.

It would be a lie to deny the fact that he'd never fantasized of her death, but it was always something like her getting run over by a cart in the street and dying instentaniously of a head injury. Never had he wished suffering like being hit by a rasengan and chidori at the same time while trying to stop her fighting teammates upo her. He felt like he was watching life go on through someone else's eyes as he tore his arm from her body and then her body became limp and began to fall towards him. The only thought he could form was, _I don't want her body on me, I don't literally want her blood on my hands. _

It was a selfish thought, especially in such a time, but he didn't want her cold body and flowing blood on him to bring the reality of his actions crashing down. That was when another thought, so strong and life-altering that he could only stand there like an idiot while Naruto used his ever-ugly orange jacket to slow Sakura's bleeding before rushing her from the rooftop. _If it's this bad to hurt just Sakura, how will I ever abandon my whole village?_

That was when, with no anger at himself arising since he had no anger left in him at the time, tears began to fall from his eyes as he choked on sobs. It was a reality at that moment, killing Sakura, and it pained his heart like someone had stuck their hand in_ him _and grabbed his heart, twisting it around for entertainment.


End file.
